Mittoris Tyrattis (1421 b.S.
to 1388 b.S.) was a Kyrattin Trader from the former Kingdom of
Kyrania. He lived for most of his
adult life on a small farm south of the Steppe of Kruswik and north of Naios,
where he raised, studied and traded the
kyrattin that he owned. He wrote
his practices down in a journal he kept titled "Of the Raising and Trading of
Kyrattin".

While he was not the first person to trade and raise
kyrattin, he did keep meticulous
records of what he did and these records exist until today. Although his
writings are both tedious and boring, they do form the basis of the practices of
kyrattin trading and raising even
today and provide insight into everyday life of farmers in the former
Kyranian Kingdom.

Appearance.
Kyranian to his finger tips, Mittoris stood at just over one and a half peds in
height. He was of slender build with sinewy muscles. Mittoris’ hair, beard and
moustache were dark brown in colour for most of his adult life. In his latter
years, Mittoris’ hair, beard and moustache were touched with grey. Throughout
his life, Mittoris kept his hair and facial hair neatly trimmed. His eyes were
dark green in colour and often appeared to be alive with mirth. His facial
features were classical Kyranian
– he possessed a strong bow, high forehead and broad jaw. Like all other Kyranian boys who
could claim Kyranian
ancestry, Mittoris had the
Kyranian coat of arms tattooed onto his back at fourteen.

As the son of merchants, Mittoris worked both inside and out in the
sun and his skin was tanned a light brown.
This, combined with his later life as a trader and raiser of kyrattin, saw
Mittoris appear older than he actually was due to the impact of the sun on his
fair skin. The sun made his skin winkled,
burned and leathery looking. Mittoris had a plump, round belly, a clear
indication of his love of the cooking of Beyetta Laryisa. She was a Kyranian cook, with
whom he shared many personal and intimate encounters.

As a youth and young adult, he wore the fine clothes typical of the merchant
class in Kyranian
society and delighted in the finery they afforded him. When he acquired the farm
and began trading in Kyrattin, his normal attire was typical of the common class
of the Kyranians.
He tended to favour blues and greens in clothing, although there was a red cloak
and vest as well that got him into troubles with the kyrattin from time
to time.

Personality. The best way to describe Mittoris’ personality is
tedious. He went into great detail about everything and anything that takes his
fancy. For most of his adult life, this was
kyrattin cattle, however for a
period of time he was just as enthusiastic about the cook Beyetta Laryisa. Even
though he cared deeply for her, his first and abiding love were the
kyrattin, a fact that she lamented
but a love with which she couldn’t compete.

As a Kyranian, Mittoris had a
rather simple outlook on life - always do your best. His enthusiasm for the
kyrattin took this to extremes most of the time, and on more than one occasion,
visitors to his farm would purposefully avoid him. One incident in the
Kyranian census of 1400 b. S. which
happened was when Reosik Taludin of the
Kyranian General Council wrote of his time spent on the farm and warned
people to 'avoid this most tedious and boring of
Kyranians'. He wrote of being
waylaid and bailed up by the farmer who proceeded to talk at him about the
kyrattin. His recommendation was 'if you have to choose between staying at the
Mittoris Tyrattin farm or staying on the side of the road, choose the road. It
is far less painful'.

Biography.Birth (1421 b.S.). Mittoris was born to Tyrattis
and Michomere, kyrattin leather merchants from the city of Naios in the southern
part of the
Kyranian kingdom in
Southern Sarvonia. Mittoris was their first
and only child. Mittoris’ parents sold leather for the grips on sengren axes and
other weapons including
axes and
swords, shoes, jackets and other useful items.

Early Childhood (1421-1412 b.S.). Mittoris had the
standard upbringing for a child of the merchant class in
Kyranian society.
He learned to read and write and to count. He was also given rudimentary skills
in the arts of the merchant by his parents. By the time Mittoris was nine, he
began going on business trips with his father, having his first encounter with
the kyrattin, an encounter which
he would freely admit later on in his journal ‘terrified him senseless’.

Latter Childhood (1411-1407 b.S.). At ten, Mittoris
began to receive training in the sword, and
like most
Kyranian youths he
found it an impost. He continued to accompany his father on business trips and
began to develop his interest in
kyrattin, keeping notes about them at this stage and asking questions of
kyrattin traders about the beasts.
At fourteen, he went through the manhood ceremony which included the tattooing
of the
Kyranian coat of
arms just below his shoulder blades.

Apprenticeship (1406-1405 b.S.). Mittoris’ slender
shoulders and limited ability with the sword
meant that he was not forced to join the military for two years. Instead, he
became an apprentice to his father, furthering his training as a merchant. He
proved to be of quick study. He began keeping his journal during this time. His
journal was written on parchment and records the practices he learned and
refined during his life. Towards the end of his apprenticeship, he travelled
through some farmlands near Naios and learned that an old
kyrattin farmer had died with no
heir. Using the money he had amassed, Mittoris acquired the farm from the
farmer’s widow and set her up for a life of relative luxury during her latter
years. Mittoris also kept on the farm workers that the previous owners of the
property had hired.

Met Beyetta Laryisa (1405 b.S.). One day while out
inspecting his kyrattin, Mittoris’
eyes were drawn to an attractive young
Kyranian woman on
the farm next to his. He wrote a number of pages in his journal about her,
describing, in great detail, the various aspects of her that he found most
appealing. When he spoke with her, he learned that her name was Beyetta Laryisa,
that she was fifteen and that she was learning to be a cook. A quote from his
journal would do justice at this point...

My 16th year - 3 Icebreak (Molten Ice)
[1],
[2].
Beyetta invited me over to try her ‘Slender and Tasty Breasts and Thighs’
and I appreciated both the tenderness of the breasts and thighs on offer,
as well as the appealing smells. Her food was also delightful and
delicious! After dinner we talked and expressed our mutual desire to
spread the word of the kyrattin … me in their raising and trading and
Beyetta in their cooking. This could be the start of a long, happy and
fruitful friendship. Beyetta … what a beautiful name … and what tender
breasts!

"Of
the Raising and Trading of Kyrattin" (1405-1390 b.S.). Now having
completed his apprenticeship, and living and working full time on his farm,
Mittoris turned his attention to the raising and trading of kyrattin. He would
talk with his farm workers and other farmers about their experiences with these
bovines and then try their efforts for himself, taking detailed and meticulous
notes on what worked and what didn't work. During this time, he also recorded
his thoughts on what was going on in
Kyrania at that time, focusing both on his local area and on events further
afield. His work was therefore also useful as a social commentary on the kingdom
as it was at that time.

Another extract from "Of the Raising and Trading of Kyrattin" helps to
illustrate this last point:

"Word has reached us of
the wargriders. It seems that the fat pigs that run Kyrania have lost
their intelligence. This will surely bring about the ruin of every farmer
of kyrattin, sheep and other livestock in Kyrania as the wargs will
undoubtedly see our animals as a food source. The other night, as Beyetta
and I were sitting down to kyrattin ribs in a spicey pfepper sauce, I said
to Beyetta, "you mark my words, this will be the ruin of us! Countess
Michomere, that fat sow, was the cause of this. She has too much influence
over the king in his palace at Caelum and he doesn't have the strength to
say no. Were I not such a peace loving man, and if my life here wasn't so
important to me, I'd pick up a sengren axe and I would travel to Caelum
and have words with the Countess. I hope that the king will have the
ability to see through her schemes."

Decline and Death (1390-1388 b.S.) [3]. In 1390,
Mittoris suddenly started forgetting things. Initially, it was little things,
like the names of distant relatives, but it got progressively worse. Beyetta,
his long time friend, cared for him during his illness, and her writings on this
period showed her deep concern for him. As the months went on, he progressively
forgot to do more things, including caring for the
kyrattin to which he had devoted
his life. When he started to forget Beyetta's name, she was deeply concerned for
him, but found that he would remember when reminded by her. Finally in 1388
b.S., during the month then known as Harven under the old
Cournanian Calendar, but is now
known as Sleeping Dreameress,
Beyetta noted in her writings that Mittoris had died, apparently in his sleep.

Importance.
The importance of Mittoris lies in the fact that he was the first person to keep
detailed records of successful practices with regards to the raising and trading
of
kyrattin.
He was not the first person to raise and trade these cattle, however he did keep
detailed and meticulous information on what did and did not work. Many of the
practices he described back then are used today by cattle farmers throughout the
lands bounded by the former
Kyranian
kingdom, predominately the southern reaches of the Steppe of Kruswick, where
people still trace their roots as being
Kyranian. In
addition to the above, his writings also served as a window on the day to day
life of the working classes of
Kyranian
society during the heyday of the kingdom and provide social and political
insights into the inner workings of the kingdom.
___________

Notes.

[1] Analysis of historical records indicates that this was the
year 1405 based on other events that have been mentioned in Mittoris’ Journal.
[Back]

[2] When referring to Mittoris' Journal and Beyetta's
cookbook, both the month name under the previously used Cournanian Calendar and
the modern Santharian Calendar are listed to aid the modern reader in
identifying the months indicated. [Back]

[3] It is possible that what was described by Beyetta was the
Efer'Avél disease, although that term wasn't identified for another seven
hundred odd years after this. Whether it was that disease or not is lost to the
mysteries of time. [Back]